


Of dark mages and dark magics

by Bacner



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ROWLING J. K. - works
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Magic, Dark magics, Death Eaters, F/M, Gen, Now with an extra Drabble, Potions, Pre-Series, Snape and Bellatrix aren't heroes they're antiheroes, Yggdrasil - Freeform, potion-making
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bacner/pseuds/Bacner
Summary: Snape doesn't like Bellatrix, because she's a psychopath. Bellatrix doesn't like Snape either. Now what?
Relationships: Severus Snape/Bellatrix Lestrange
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dwalk1_2002](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwalk1_2002/gifts), [lila_luscious1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lila_luscious1/gifts).



> Disclaimer: all characters belong to Rowling, nothing is mine.

The (dark) wizard Severus Snape, potions’ master extraordinaire and (reluctant) Death Eater was angrier than a dozen of average demons. After his latest brief incarceration by the aurors, he was getting swamped with letters from his various clients, each one demanding to have their potion (or any other alchemical creation, really), being delivered first, because priorities. As far as reasons went, Snape hated “priorities” a lot – they were in his top ten, surely – and though he need-ed the money, working for the Dark Lord was many things, but not fiscally good – he had to admit that he was about to have his tolerance limit breeched for good, and his tolerance limit was – more varied and durable than Snape once assumed, (cough, the Marauders, cough). And there was one other new variable in the mix now.

Snape was creating. He was half-inventing something new, and half-recreating an old recipe, that the human liaison of Sanguini and the latter’s vampire cohorts had slipped over to him during Snape’s latest incarceration, see above. In fact, they were behind it for this very reason – curse the vampires, as well as the other sentient undead, for their concept of subtlety and theatrics. Honestly, they were almost as bad as the Dark Lord himself was, but Snape would rather not think in this direction – this way lay treason, and for Snape treason amounted to Dumbledore and the latter’s Marauders – and was it mentioned that Snape hated the marauders and vice versa? If not, spoiler alert – he did. Possibly, he should have ‘forgive and forget’, ‘turn the other cheek’ – right. Was it mentioned that Snape was a dark wizard? If not, spoiler alert – he was. That said, as far as dark wizards went, his passion was potions and the like, not world domination, but now that he was currently working on a challenge – a potion that he had never created before, and so the old money-makers – bone growing potions, blood thinners and thickeners, and so on – were decidedly put on a backburner. Yes, money made the wizarding world go round, (cough Lucius Malfoy cough) and Snape himself felt its’ power over his life, (cough Potter and Black families cough), but darn it all! He was a potion master and he was going to master this potion!

…As Snape read over the latest letter and realized that, again, not one bastard or bitch cared to inquire, and how he was on this merry day after his latest stunt in the Wizarding world’s version of The Big House, his day seemingly got worse, as the door to his laboratory opened up and in came Bellatrix LeStrange in person.

“Hello, Severus!” she purposely badly tried to ape the voice and the manners of her younger sister, Narcissa. Yes, all of the Black sisters got the same education that all highborn Pureblood witches did, but for the follower of the Dark Lord and a Blood Purist, Bellatrix seemed genuinely happy in messing them up, because reasons that Severus didn’t know about and didn’t care. Actually, he did not care – he was busy, and he did not need anyone here, man or woman or Black of any political allegiance. 

“…How’d you get here?” he asked in lieu of a greeting, trying to sound as uninviting as possible. On normal people, this strategy worked fine, on Black of any political allegiance – not at all.

“Oh, I knew your general address, and Narcissa filled-in the gaps,” Bellatrix shrugged innocently, case in point.

“No, that’s not what I meant. You were taught that arriving uninvited is rude, correct? Ergo, I’m kicking you out!” Snape gestured with his wand and his laboratory doors opened once again, this time by his magic. “Black, I don’t have time for guests, nor interest in having them!”

…Yes, technically Bellatrix was not a Black any longer; since Snape was both a Slytherin and an unsuccessful one at that he did not care. “Go on,” he pushed forwards, aware that Bellatrix was not bothered by his rudeness at all. “If you want to Apparate instead, you have my permission. Just – leave, for Mordred’s sake! I’m busy!”

“You won’t get rid of me so easily,” Bellatrix gracefully moved towards Snape and his working state. The light of the few candles illuminated her rather expensive and elegant clothing, light indigo rather than black, as it was expected from her. 

“Trying something different for a change?” Snape raised one of his trademark eyebrows; yes, he was younger than when he will meet Harry Potter as Hogwarts’ Head of the Slytherin House, but he was already good with the eyebrow. 

“Don’t be fooled,” Bellatrix replied with a faux-dismissiveness that did not fool Snape one bit. “As your fellow Death Eater, I formally ask you for advice. Maybe help even, too.”

“Oh yes, we’re birds of a feather, aren’t we,” Snape grimaced, fully aware that he was dressed in muggle pants and a matching shirt with wrapped-up sleeves: yes, he was channeling his muggle father more than he liked or cared to admit, but on the other hand? Wizarding clothing, and especially robes, just were not the best clothing for working with potions and other alchemy aspects. 

…Speaking of them, “Fine, tell me your woes,” Snape muttered, seeing how Bellatrix was not budging, even as he began to rummage through his shelves for the ingredients that he needed now. “What’s up?”

“Our Lord plans to put his candidacy up for Wizengamot’s elections. He is looking for people who will recommend him-“

“So?”

“So, he’ll fail. We must kill Crouch-senior. Barty-junior is one of us, and he can be good if he is mentored properly, he will succeed. And if not, I can take care of his parents myself! We must kill all the muggle lovers in the government, the rest of the Great Houses will support us, I am sure! And the Dark Lord-“

“-told you that you’re daft and should keep your nose out of your plans?”

…Apparently, Severus’ wild guess was right on the money as Bellatrix gave him a good hard penetrating look with some occlumency on the side. 

“How’d you know?” she finally muttered. “I never talked about this on our gatherings-“

It was Snape’s turn to grow thoughtful. “So where and when did you encounter our Lord and gave him your suggestion?” he finally asked. 

“It’s complicated,” Bellatrix looked away first and found something fascinating on the tip of one of her still-spotless shoes. “It was… private.”

“…And now you have no better ideas than to confess about your affair to me?” Severus was growing increasingly unhappy with this discussion; he really should have invested in a secret keeper. Maybe Rosalia Zabini?..

“It’s not an affair!” Bellatrix abruptly exploded, finally revealing her infamous temper… that was edged with something else, something atypical for her, and because of it, Snape was having problems defining it. “You can’t understand! Not to mention – whom should I confess it to? My _sweet_ big sister Andromeda? Or, better yet – Narcissa’s Lucius?”

“…Point, but I don’t see the problem either. The Dark Lord has powers that we did not even dream about. He can take care of himself! Why should you – or any of us, really – interfere in his plans?”

As Snape’s own outburst ended, Bellatrix crossed arms over her rather noticeable chest, let us be fair, and appeared to be oddly defeated. 

“I cannot help but to think,” she muttered to no one in particular, even though it was just her and Snape here and now, “as to what will happen to us if the Dark Lord decides that we aren’t useful to him anymore? What if he – grows disappointed with us? Severus, say, what will you do if he turns away from you?”

…Severus looked away. He never cared much for the Dark Lord, aka Tom Riddle, and joined the Death Eaters only for the connections and opportunities this organization has brought. Sadly, so far their leader the Dark Lord was proving to be nothing more but an arrogant upstart, who got lucky with his magical potential. Conversely, though, he was a lousy strategist, who knew nothing of planning. If Snape himself had a fraction of Riddle’s charm, if he was the one in charge of Death Eaters – why, he would show everyone what he was made of!.. However, Bellatrix was probably the last person that he wanted to tell this, so what he said instead was as follows:

“Yes, well, this brings us here literally, as I’m working on a new concoction that just might impress our Lord with its’ effects!”

“Really?” Bellatrix perked up some, and began to resemble her usual self a bit. “Well, let’s try it first!” She grabbed a ladle to scoop some for herself.

“Wait, that’s the wrong ladle-“ Snape began, intent on saying that he used that bit of tableware to cook food for himself, as so it was stained with all sorts of stains that should be kept away from any potion at all time, but it was too late: the ladle made contact with the molasses-colored potion, (actually, its’ texture was somewhat like molasses’ as well), and there was an explosion. Snape was knocked prone and landed hard, ass first, on the hard stone floor. Bellatrix was less lucky as the explosion shoved her all the way to window at the other end of the lab. She was dazed but otherwise unhurt – but so was Snape. In fact, as Bellatrix shook her head, clearing it off mental cobwebs, already grinning darkly and preparing to comment wittily about Snape’s prowess, Snape spoke first – the other half of this potion-spell combo. Immediately, he felt a certain discomfort, as his connection to the arcane energies of the world temporarily slipped away. Instead, in their place, Snape found discovering new abilities in his mind and body as his body subtly shifted and altered, making him look different, more like his cousin than like himself.

Across the currently damaged lab, Bellatrix LeStrange stared at the other Death Eater, even as her own body underwent the same transformation, suppressing, among other things, the Death Mark and its’ effects on her body and mind. For a long time now she was quite certain that her destiny was to serve the Dark Lord, and so his chilly rejection of her earlier today had hurt – a bad kind of hurt, (Bellatrix always loved intense experiences, you know?). Now, however, Snape’s wild outburst, (okay, not Snape’s per se, and it was not exactly an outburst, but right now Bellatrix was even more mentally unbalanced than normally), promised to make her forget – and Snape did deliver. 

Snape came from the flank – Bellatrix really should not have come here tonight, (cough – no, really, cough). He had not had anyone over for an entire eternity. He did not care that Bellatrix was married; she could have been Morgan le Fay herself for all that mattered, he just took her. Bellatrix’s cloak was thrown away with a broken clasp; her dress was already ruined through her own transformation – Bellatrix herself did not care. She was melting, metaphorically speaking, in Severus’ firm grasp, she was feeling his current strength and determination, and she just wanted more, more…

/ / /

…Slowly, Snape returned to his normal sense of mind, feeling something similar to a stiff hangover. Through the corner of his eye, he could see Bellatrix looking the same, and he was not looking forwards to her reaction – the Black temper was well known, and he doubted that he had pleased her with his approach… or did he? The now-repaired cloak clasp of Bellatrix was illuminating the witch’s face with a soft golden light – either it was supposed to, or Bellatrix’s repairing spell did not work out as it was supposed to, Snape was betting on the latter, it was Andromeda, who was the family’s Ravenclaw for a reason.

Sadly, the light did not do anything for Bellatrix’s condition – the ruined dress that did not conceal anything anymore, the disheveled black hair, the flushed face, the oddly happy smile that made Bellatrix look atypically soft and vulnerable by her standards… Snape looked away – and looked right through one of his lab’s windows, or rather – through one of his lab’s window frames: the window itself was missing, probably from all the magical explosion that occurred in the lab lately. Some unknown wizard was standing across the street, looking through the hole, trying to mentally identify them both, but especially – Bellatrix.

“Imperio,” Snape said flatly. “And now go onto the Diagon-alley. Move, move!”

“Hm,” muttered Bellatrix, as she moved to Severus, from her position on his left. “Oblivate, for good measure!”

…There was a pause as both of them looked at the stranger’s retreating back and at the lab, trying to figure out, what to do next.

“It’s been a while since I had anything like that,” Bellatrix finally looked at Snape with her big black eyes. “And you? Can’t imagine your little redheaded girl from Hogwarts ever participating in this sort of thing either.”

Snape looked back, wondering why he does not cast some sort of a spell over Bellatrix herself now. Most likely it was because of her voice – somehow she gave the expression that she had a breakthrough of her own, that their Dark Lord did not care for her at all…or for anyone, really. One of the members of Black family found herself in the company of a half-blood potion master… okay, a half-blood Prince, but honestly, if given a choice, Snape would rather stay himself – i.e., a Snape – than be anyone else, actually. 

…For her part, Bellatrix kept her own silence. She had cared little for Potter and his muggle-born wife, she did not really care much for Snape either, but now, though, something had shifted between the two of them, and Bellatrix found herself caring little for James Potter and his existence now.

“Finite incantatem,” Snape finished cleaning-up his lab, (with Bellatrix’ help, actually). “Black, go home. We had enough of each other for today!”

“Today being the key word here,” Bellatrix once more appeared to be mentally unruffled by Snape’s statements. 

“Isn’t one broken window enough damage for one day?”

“Maybe it was you who had broken it!”

“Maybe the potion is my fault too? I stopped ruining potions after my twelfth birthday!” Snape pointed to the cauldron that had the now-exploded potion. The cauldron was ruining now, and the potion – gone, as in splattered in dark drops all over the lab’s walls and ceiling.

“Don’t get started, you pedant!” Bellatrix rolled her eyes. “Accio robe! Accio dress! Can I floo from here?”

“Looking like that?” Snape spattered. 

“Eh, the older generation isn’t in England, Rabastan is with Crouch-junior, and Rudolphus is asleep at this hour, most likely. I shouldn’t have any problems – what are you doing?”

The question was rhetorical, as what Snape was doing was removing the bruises from her arms and thighs, healing the bite on her right shoulder. With an unreadable expression on her face, Bellatrix observed him magically repairing her dress, however roughly.

“…Rudolphus doesn’t care if I come back wounded, drunk, or simply screwed,” Bellatrix finally made a decision and a statement. “We share a bedroom, we share a bed, but never has he been interested with touching me even with a fingertip!”

“Ah, the magic of pureblood families,” Snape muttered in reply. “So this is how and why you became a Death Eater!”

Instead of replying, Bellatrix put the dress back on, followed by her cloak. They were both quiet now. Both were wondering when their next meeting should be. Neither asked this, when Bellatrix flooe’d herself home.

_TBC?_

PS; And on the next day, Snape discovered that the splattered remains of the potion turned into black diamonds. Suddenly, his financial issues got resolved, temporary or not.


	2. An extra drabble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an extra Drabble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anyone here.

...Once upon a time, Bellatrix Lestrange got tired of harassing aurors and murdering muggles. She decided to bother Snape instead. One apparation after another - and lo, she was in his lab, looking through the various bottles.

...Bellatrix looked at them, one after another, until she finally settled on one that had a red lid with white dots. She took a swallow, and went on a trip up the Yggdrasil, the world tree - and from there she was able to see everyone and everything, including the Dark lord, the Death Eaters, and their role in history. And then the trip ended, because Snape revived her, and all that Bellatrix could say after swearing for a long time, (because of Azkaban flashbacks and all), was -

“And how the [censored] do we fix this?”

And Snape, of course, had an idea, but that was another story.


End file.
